Tyranny Of Normality
by midnightwriter1898
Summary: Mitchie never questioned her situation, never thought anything was wrong, until she and Caitlyn sneak out one night to see Connect 3 in concert... and it's after it's too late they realize how horribly wrong they both were to go back home.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I am a terrible person... lol. So, new story... MAYBE. As you've seen in the past with me, I have a _terrible_ infamous history of starting new stories then dropping them because I lose interest. And because I have an insanely busy schedule, and have had writers block for over two years, no promises. Plus, this may suck because I haven't been writing in so long (my brain's almost forgotten how to spell, LOL) so... we'll see. Anyways, I will try my best to keep my interest in this story, and keep writing.  
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**Disclaimer: I'm only doing this once, not every chapter, because we _all_ know I don't own CR. **

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"Mitchie, are you still there?" I could hear Shane's nervous tone on the other end of the line, but I couldn't respond. If I did, he would hear me, and catch us... and that could never happen.

Ignoring Shane's desperate calling of my name, I forced myself to pull the phone away from my ear and slid my hand over the receiver, hoping I would muffle out Shane's voice enough that he wouldn't know what was going on. Huddling in the corner, I held my breath as his footsteps drew closer, hoping that he would be distracted and just pass the two of us by.

I heard the stairs creak, and released the breath I'd been holding almost unconsciously. Waiting until I'd heard his door close just to be safe, I raised the phone again, my ears still listening intently for any noise that would warn me.

"Shane." I hardly dared to even whisper, afraid he'd overhear me somehow. He seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere. On the other end of the line, Shane breathed a sigh of relief at hearing my voice. "He's back. I have to hang up, I can't stay on. He'll find out otherwise." More than anything, I wanted to stay on the phone, to cling to some kind of hope that _somehow, _Shane would find some way to help us.

"No, no... Mitchie, please don't, just hang on a few more minutes." In the background, I could hear Shane mutter an annoyed growl, and the sound of a car horn honking.

"Shane... what are you doing?" I tensed unconsciously. When I'd called Shane for help, I hadn't known what to expect - I hadn't dared to imagine anything would change, for fear of having my hopes crushed.

"Just hang on Mitchie, okay? You're both going to get out of this, just don't put the phone down." I gave a barely audible gasp, and turned as I felt fingers intertwining with my own, giving my hand a squeeze. Caitlyn's brown eyes were wide as saucers, and I knew she'd overheard Shane.

"Mitch... I don't know if this is a good idea. What will he do... to all _three_ of us?" Caitlyn whispered, gripping my hand tightly. My eyes flickered between Caitlyn's frightened expression and the phone in my hand, inwardly fighting between the two options. I could hang up now, forget about any hope of us ever leaving this house and then he would never even know about what we had done. Unconsciously, my hand tightened around the phone, some part of me unwilling to let go of this fleeting chance at freedom. "You know he'll find out, he always does, please hang up." The girl begged, snatching at the phone. My heart leapt in my throat as I shook my head, desperately moving the phone out of her reach. This was our one shot, our one chance, and I couldn't give it up.

"Caitlyn, if he does, I'll take the blame, you don't need to be involved in this. I was the one who used the phone in the first place, and I'll make sure he knows that. You should go, though, that way he can't associate you with this."

Caitlyn shook her head, scooting closer to me. "No, I wouldn't do that. We are both in this together. I'm just... afraid." She sighed, swallowing nervously. "If he finds out, Mitch..."

"I know." I really did, and it terrified me, but I needed to be strong for her. She'd been strong for me so many times, now was not the time to think about what the future would hold for us if - when - he found out.

"Mitchie?" Faintly I heard Shane's voice through the phone, and quickly tried to quiet the sound.

"Yes?" I hardly dared to utter even one word, because I could hear him moving around upstairs. Caitlyn's wide eyes flickered towards the stairs in fear. _No, we're so close, he can't discover us now..._

"Get away from the window." Shane's voice was commanding, making it clear that we needed to listen. I frowned, raising my head enough to stare over the couch at the huge, curtained window.

"Why?"

"Just do it, now!" Shane shouted, and I winced, glancing upstairs, ignoring the desperate feeling in my body warning me not to move, but after all this... I had to trust Shane. Grabbing Caitlyn's hand, I jumped up, disregarding her surprised gasp and pulling her towards the other end of the room. Above our heads, I could hear him jump up from his chair, obviously having heard us, and his quick footsteps heading towards the stairs. Tears were at the corner of my eyes, threatening to spill - he'd find out now, it was over. Shane was too late... I shouldn't have ignored my survival instincts. They'd kept me and Caitlyn alive up until now, but I'd ignored them. I heard him shout, his footsteps thundering down the stairs, and I couldn't ignore the thought in my head. _I shouldn't have listened to Shane._

Tires screeched on the pavement, and through the thick, dark curtains I could just barely make out headlights. Pulling Caitlyn closer, I tried my best to block her.

"Get down!" I didn't bother to lower my voice, pushing her down and turning away from the window, wanting to shield us both from the blow I knew was coming.

The sound of an engine revving up was heard just before suddenly, sunlight was flooding into the always dark house, glass was flying everywhere, and the whole window came crashing down behind us.


	2. Back To The Beginning

**A/N: Shockingly, here's a new update! Bet you all didn't expect that ;) I'm just keeping everyone on their toes by doing the unexpected, lol.  
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* * *

I groaned, putting my hands to my head and massaging my temples in an attempt to block the headache I could feel coming on. It was the same every time. Caitlyn glanced up from the food she was stirring, frowning, and nodded her head towards the cabinet to my left.

"Take some tylenol, Mitch." She recommended, knowing just how bad my headaches usually got. "Brian just restocked the shelf for you." Giving a sigh of relief, I quickly swallowed two with a glass of water.

These headaches were monstrous.

"You should stop thinking about it so hard, Mitch, and you know as well as I do that your headaches will stop. Give it time, and stop trying to force it."

"But Caity... I just don't understand." I knew she was right - as she usually was. "Why can't I remember?" I couldn't remember my childhood - anything about it, or pretty much anything that happened before I was seven. Was that normal? Brian had assured me that it was quite normal, and that in time, my memories would return, but somehow I had a feeling he didn't believe his own words.

"Brian's told you a million times, Mitch, that you fell on the playground and hit your head, then ended up in the hospital. You know that's why you can't remember." I had heard his story, probably a million times as Caitlyn claimed, but still it didn't seem to sink up. I didn't remember ever going to the hospital, but at the same time, I couldn't remember _not_ going. Even if I didn't have the memories, I could still imagine that day, Brian had described it in such detail. But everything before was a blank, and Brian always seemed reluctant to speak of times before my accident.

"It doesn't make sense." I insisted, and Caitlyn sighed. We had this conversation regularly, and yet still she managed to be patient with me. "If I truly have a photographic memory, which isn't in question, then why do all the details about times before still escape me?" It frustrated me sometimes, knowing that it had been eleven years since that day on the playground, and not even a tiny flicker of memories had returned.

"I can't remember all of my past, either." Caitlyn always tried to comfort me with this knowledge, but it only bothered me more. Somehow it seemed odd to have two children, one with no memories of being young and the other with only a select few. "It's mostly just blurs, but I don't question it. I let it be. It's in the past, I'd rather focus on the future."

At that moment, the two girls turned towards the sound of a door opening, and a tall figure entered.

"Brian." I offered him a smile, moving forwards to take the boxes he was carrying out of his hand. He never liked idle hands, and I didn't waste time waiting for him to ask us to help. "Is there anything else you need us to get?" I eyed the door, taking a second to let my eyes adjust to the bright light, before I took a hesitant step towards it. It was so beautiful outside, I wished we could go out some time.

Brian's hand grasped my shoulder before I could get any closer, pulling me back quickly.

"You know better than that, Mitchie - the world outside is dangerous. You have to stay inside, for your and Caitlyn's protection." His voice was stern, his grip firm, as he pushed me away from the door. Caitlyn's frown in my direction told me I'd been stupid, and I swallowed, an apology quickly on my lips. "Don't be sorry, dear, just don't let it happen again. Next time, you could get hurt. It would be terrible if something happened to you." I nodded, fumbling clumsily with the boxes in my arms. I didn't understand why my heart raced and my palms grew sweaty every time Brian gave us a warning, but it was something uncontrollable. Brian had a very even temper for the most part, but when he did get angry... I still had a terrible fear that perhaps he wasn't as calm and controlled as he seemed to be lately.

I shook my head, frustrated with my body's heightened sense of fear, and tried to push it away. My feelings would disappear soon enough, as I already knew, but I still hated the fact they even existed.

"Just set them outside my door, dear." Brian nodded towards the closed door that led to his study, yet another room in the house Caitlyn and I weren't allowed to go. Obediently, I placed them up against the wall neatly before turning around and heading back downstairs. Brian never liked us upstairs much, or at least not for very long.

"What lovely meal did you both make for me today?" I followed Brian back into the kitchen, where Caitlyn was already piling food on a plate, holding it out to Brian.

He took it, eying us both over while frowning. "Dears, please, make yourself some food. You both are much too thin!" He remarked before he left us alone in the kitchen, and we both breathed sighs of relief.

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**I know, I know, sucky ending... oh well, sorry guys! Any guess at all as to what the plot of the story is, or have I managed to keep everyone in the dark? I'm still thinking of/changing the plot as I go along so even I don't know what's actually going on! haha... soon enough everything will be clear. This is just a result of watching too many Flashpoint episodes (idk if I just gave a hint or not...) Anyways... if you'd be so kind as to review and tell me what you thought, I'd love that :) **


	3. Play My Music

**A/N: Another chapter... I'm even surprising myself, honestly. This one is a bit lighter, with still not much 'action', and introduces (well, somewhat) Connect 3... or at least Mitchie and Caitlyn's obsession with them. It's also pretty short, sorry about that, all this writing non-action chapters is new to me. Can you believe it's been three chapters and no one's in the hospital yet? I'm not sure how I've managed to resist the temptation... LOL. Let me know what you think.**

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Caitlyn gave me an enthusiastic smile as she handed me an ear bud while keeping the other one, and I couldn't help but laugh at our change of heart. Although I did dream about one day leaving this tiny, dark house, Brian kept us busy with all of our chores and helping him, but he still did give us some time to enjoy ourselves. One day he'd come back with a radio and a handful of random CDs and a pair of ear buds, telling us to have fun, but to keep it quiet. It had only taken us one time of turning it on by accident for us to remember to keep it low enough that Brian couldn't hear it. After that, we'd quickly learned to share the ear buds and never take them out of the radio. Brian never liked, nor tolerated, loud music.

"Are you ready?" Caitlyn's voice broke into my thoughts, and I glanced at the CD she was holding excitedly in front of my face, nodding. One of the CDs that had been in the pile Brian had given us was an album by Connect 3 - aka, Caitlyn and I's favorite band from the first day of hearing it. After that, we'd been hooked, and surprisingly Brian had complied to bringing us back their newest CD and a poster of the three boys. It had been a kind, unexpected gift, and now we both were dying to get to listen to it.

"What are you waiting for?" I playfully pulled the CD out of her hand, popping it into the radio's player, and grinned as Shane's voice filled my ear. Oh, his voice was magical!

We both were obsessed with Connect 3, and much to our joy Brian actually would let us watch their music videos and keep up to date with most things related to them. He even would rarely let us turn on the TV to see some of their news reports, although he monitored everything very closely and turned the TV back off the second their faces had disappeared from the screen, reminding us yet again that "the TV would corrupt our minds - it was just a tool to keep people preoccupied and to make them stupid." And of course Brian wouldn't have stupid people around him, so we were banned from TV unless he approved of it first.

I watched Caitlyn's smile grow as the chorus reached our ears, and Nate's soft voice interrupted Shane's. If I hadn't been so engrossed in the music, I might have teased her. While I had always favored Shane, Caitlyn had preferred Nate, noting that he wasn't as 'bold and loud' as my favorite member of Connect 3 was. Which was a funny accusation, coming from Caitlyn, since she was always the more outspoken of the two of us, while I would much rather stay quiet and avoid confrontation. Opposites attract, so I've heard is the theory.

"It's amazing." Caitlyn dragged out the word, still mouthing the words to the lyrics, a broad smile on her face. Of course, I couldn't do anything but agree with her. We both loved Connect 3.

"They are amazing." I rephrased, daydreams flickering through my head about someday meeting them. _Someday. _Although I knew it was unlikely, well... a girl could dream, right? There was no harm in dreaming.

Someday, after Caitlyn and I moved out of this house, there was always a chance we'd get to go to one of their concerts or something, and maybe then we could fulfill our dreams. I knew Caitlyn was just as obsessed with the idea as I was, because we both rambled about that day when Brian wasn't around to hear us. We both knew he'd never approve of it.

I imagined a us riding in a limo, pulling up to the theatre where Connect 3 would be playing, and all the excitement we would feel. I imagined the crowd pressing in around us as we pushed through, trying to make our way towards the stage. At the thought I hesitated a little bit, never having been too comfortable with people getting too close to me, but I brushed off the feeling. I could see the boys playing in front of us, I could feel the bass pushing through my whole body, my ears filled with screams and all our favorite songs. I even let me mind wander far enough to imagine us getting backstage, with our meet and greet passes, waiting for the greatest moment of our lives. We'd even managed to get to meet them...

I laughed at myself as the thought crossed my mind, the whole scenario too unlikely to even keep dreaming about.

"Someday, Caity." I sighed dreamily, and Caitlyn laughed, knowing fully well where my mind had wandered away to.

"Yes, Mitch, someday."


	4. What To Do

**A/N: Well, I've officially written five chapters in 4 hours... insanity I tell you. I'm afraid to walk away and eat something for fear my new found writing desire will be gone. But I'm feeling a bit hungry, so maybe that's why I subconsciously started out this chapter with food... haha XD.  
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"Mitchie!" Brian's yell had my heart racing before I'd even opened my eyes, my mind only vaguely comprehending the fact he was standing above me. My mind was alert and ready, but my body was still sluggish from the sleep he'd just awoken me from. "Mitchie, get up!" His hands shook my body, and I groaned, forcing my tired self to roll out of bed.

"Yes?" I mumbled, glancing over to see that Caitlyn was just stirring from her sleep as well, Brian having woken both of us.

"Are you sick?" I frowned, confused as to why he would even ask such a thing. Was there something I'd forgotten about - not that that was very likely? Brian still stood over me, staring down, and I realized I hadn't answered him yet.

"I don't think so." I said, mentally noting that no, I didn't feel sick.

"Well then, why isn't my breakfast ready?" Brian barked, and my eyes popped open, my body instantly alert as horror settled over me. I'd overslept by some terrible mistake. Letting out a surprised grunt and a mumbled "I'll get right on it", I ran past him towards the kitchen.

How could I have managed to oversleep? I knew Brian wanted his morning breakfast bright and early, ready for him by the time he'd gotten up. I'd messed up horribly.

His heavy footsteps had caught up to me as I popped some toast in the toaster and cracked open two eggs.

"Five minutes, and I'd like that on the table." He ordered, and I nodded, flustered, trying my best to make up for lost time. I could only remember once before when I had made a similar mistake, but I quickly pushed the memory out of my head. There was no reason to get even more worked up then I was now.

Flipping the eggs over, I buttered the toast, mentally counting down the time I had to finish. Two minutes and the clock was still ticking.

"Almost done?" I flinched at the voice near my ear, being so preoccupied I hadn't even heard anyone approach. I relaxed as my eyes flickered towards Caitlyn, who offered me a supportive smile while trying to hold back a yawn. "Sorry, Mitch, this is all my fault." She looked guilty, and I frowned at her.

"How so?"

"I'm the one who convinced you to stay up a little longer so we could finish listening to Connect 3's new album. You kept saying how tired you were but I didn't listen." I shook my head - I had been just as much to blame. Once the adrenaline rush had worn off, I'd realized just how exhausted I was.

"Nonsense, Caity, you know I wanted to listen to it just as badly as you did. None of this is your fault."

"Why are you girls wasting time talking when my breakfast is still not on the table?" Brian's irritated voice broke into our conversation, and I turned to glance at him timidly, popping the eggs onto the plate before pushing it in front of him. "I have a business meeting today, and this whole incident has already made me late." He growled, his eyes still showing his annoyance.

"I'm sorry." I apologized again. Caitlyn's hand touched my arm, and she gave me a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry doesn't turn back the clock, dear." Brian muttered, handing me back the empty plate and brushing off any crumbs as he stood."Now, we'll just pretend this ordeal never happened, but I expect to see my dinner on the table and this place spotless by the time I get back - with the exception of my study and the basement, as usual." He grabbed the briefcase from the floor next to him and made his way briskly towards the door.

Both Caitlyn and I couldn't help but stare at the door, even after he was long gone.

* * *

"Mitch!" Caitlyn's surprised squeal made me jump up, glancing at her in concern. Frowning at her, I squinted at her from across the room as she waved something in the air. "You'll never _guess_ what I've found!"

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously, staring down at the cleaning supplies in my hand and contemplating putting them down. Brian had said he wanted the house 'spotless', and although the house wasn't large in itself, it was time consuming work. We had to be done before he got back.

"Get over here!" Caitlyn sounded much too excited, and, biting my lip in worry I made my way towards her. Before I could see the object in her hands, however, the sound of music behind me made me jump and turn.

My hand over my heart as I tried to stop it from racing, my mouth hung open in surprise. Caitlyn launched herself over to my side, a huge smile on her face, waving the remote to the TV in my face. I didn't try to conceal my shock. Brian always hid the remote - he refused to allow any TV whatsoever unless he was standing there as well monitoring the screen.

"What do you want to watch first?" Caitlyn exclaimed, her eyes huge as she stared at the screen. I hesitated though - Brian would flip if he found out what we'd done, and on top of that there was only an hour before he'd be coming back.

"I don't know about this, Caity. It's too risky. There's not much time before Brian's back, plus what if he knows what we did? He'd be so angry."

"Well, he won't find out, and plus, it'll only be for a few minutes. A couple of minutes of TV won't kill us. Come on... let's see if there's anything on about Connect 3." She cast an evil, overexcited glance in my direction, and ignoring my common sense, I couldn't ignore the part of me that was dying to be slightly rebellious.

Caitlyn glanced at my expression and her smile grew even wider, if that was possible, before she started flipping through the stations.

"Wait, go back!" I touched her arm, having caught a glimpse of Jason Gray's face, and we both turned our full attention to the screen.

"And to celebrate the release of their new album, _Play My Music_, America's favorite band of brothers has gone on a world wide tour." The reporter announced, and both Caitlyn and I released gasps of surprise. "Now it's our turn to get ready to be amazed, because they are wrapping off their tour in our own hometown tomorrow night at the Sprint Center!"

"Mitch..." Caitlyn turned to me, and I could see her thoughts etched into her face as clearly as if she'd spoken them aloud. Oh, this was a bad idea, such a bad idea... there was no way in the whole world we could even consider doing such an absurd, outrageous, foolish...

"We have to go!" Caitlyn exclaimed, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - when we will ever get this chance again?"

"Brian will never allow it, you know that as well as I do. We'd be insane to even ask him. He's so overprotective of us, if we can't even step outside how are we supposed to get him to let us go to a concert?"

"Of course we couldn't ask him." Caitlyn offered an eye roll in my direction. "That wasn't what I was suggesting. But we _must _go to that concert, Mitch. Just think... Connect 3!"

"So, just exactly what are you proposing?" I asked suspiciously, although I already knew her answer. I just wanted to hear her confirm it before I voiced my thoughts.

Her sly smile said it all, even before she had opened her mouth. "We should sneak out."

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**So... Brian. Secretly a good guy or just a creepy psycho? I keep changing my mind on the matter lol so I need some opinions.  
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**Reviews are greatly appreciated, this story is so different from my usual stuff because normally I just use real life experiences in most plots (minus kidnapping and all, haha) and yet this in no way at all relates to my life at all... it's a refreshing, but odd change. Thanks for the feedback so far 3  
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**Anyways, if I'm rambling... it's late and I'm tired and probably delusional and hyper. Sorry guys, no matter how much older I get I can still act like a crazy five year old that ate too many cookies ;)**


	5. Birdhouses & Dares

**A/N: Sorry for not updating for a few days but in my defense, I do have a good 'excuse'. I have an ear infection and for the last few days to even look at a screen or do anything for the matter has given me a terrible headache and made me horribly dizzy. Even now the pressure in my head is still too much so this chapter may be short, idk how long I can handle writing (aka looking at my computer or sitting up, lol). Let me just say that I would rather fall off my horse at least 50 times then have an ear infection, it is much less painful to have a bruise or two then this demon thing going on. So sorry if this chapter sucks forgive me I can barely think right now. I cut off Mitchie's part early bc I was getting bored with it, and instead added some Connect 3 ;)  
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* * *

"Oh, Caity, I don't know if this is a good idea. Of course I want to go and all, but still..." I bit my lip worriedly, as Caitlyn pulled a neon green shirt over the purple one she already had on. She turned to me, frowning, shaking the brown curls she'd worked so hard to achieve the past hour. She looked awesome - I'd never seen her this dressed up.

"Oh no Mitch, you're not backing out now." She cut me off quickly, "It is far too late for that. Please, stop fidgeting, we're going to be fine, it's going to be awesome, and we'll be back before he's even missed us." With a smile, she eyed my outfit and hair. "You look awesome, by the way. If you'd just get a bit excited and smile, everything would be perfect."

"I am excited - it's been my dream just as long as it's been yours. I'm just worried about what happens after. Or... how are we even going to get there? Are you sure we have enough money? What if we get lost? How are we supposed to find our way home?" I was rambling out of nervousness, and Caitlyn sighed.

"We'll take a taxi, yes of course we have enough money, Brian's careless with his change and cleaning up after him does have its perks after a few years when you've found enough money to go to a Connect 3 concert. We won't get lost, we'll just make sure we get the street name before we go, and we can have another taxi bring us home. Please stop worrying, everything will be fine."

"You're so sure of yourself, Caity. I wish I could be more like you." I sighed. "But... I am excited. Can you wait to see the boys in real life?"

* * *

"Can you guys believe it?" Jason slung his arms over his brothers shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. "The last day of tour... wow, it's been an awesome experience."

"We should do something fun," Nate remarked slyly, making both his brothers heads turn to stare at him. Nate was hardly ever anything but serious.

"What are you suggesting?" Shane asked suspiciously, knowing that when either of his brothers were in mischievous moods, it never worked out in his favor.

"Ooh - I know! We could build birdhouses!" Jason suggested quickly, hoping that _for once _his brothers would agree with him.

"No!" Came the unison reply, and Jason sighed. Shot down again. He'd just have to find someone else to help him with a birdhouse, someday.

"Jason, please buddy, let it go. Why don't you find another obsessions - dogs, or something, _anything._ We've been hearing about birdhouses for over two years!" Nate sounded on the point of begging, and Shane nodded eagerly in his brothers direction.

"No." Jason shot back easily, having had this same conversation many times. "If I don't stand up and take care of the birds by building them houses, then who will?"

"I'm sure there will be someone." Nate clapped his hand on his brother's shoulder.  
Anyways, back to the discussion beforehand..."

"We could do dares or something." Shane suggested, always being the more daring of the three brothers. Nate rolled his eyes.

"If you'd like to do a dare then by all means we shall give you a wonderful dare, but I was thinking more along the lines of doing a new song at the end of the concert for the fans maybe."

"I'd like a dare as well!" Jason chimed in, "And of course playing a new song sounds like fun."

"Ok." Nate stopped to face his brothers. "I'll give you both a dare then."

"Why do you get to be the one to give out dares?" Shane whined, and Nate raised an eyebrow, his eyes flickering to Jason.

"Because, do you really want a dare from Jason? You'd probably be forced to climb a tree in the middle of some forest to go bird watching."

"Hey!" Jason interrupted, looking hurt. "That is a lot of fun to do, you know!"

"So, Jason, I dare you to go twenty four hours without talking about birdhouses, if you lose then I'll have to take away your new birdhouse building magazine, and Shane, I dare you to give your phone number - your personal one - to a random stranger tonight." Nate smirked evilly, and both Shane and Jason gasped.

"Not fair!" Both whined together, and Nate shrugged.

"Oh well, you both wanted dares, there you are." Shane rolled his eyes, muttering in annoyance, while Jason looked on the verge of tears. "So, now that we've got all that out of the way and we're all satisfied, we really should be getting to sound check." Ignoring his brothers evil glares in his direction, Nate couldn't contain his smile as he stepped onto the stage.


End file.
